WASHINGTON - Before approving sweeping medical privacy rules first introduced by the Clinton administration, President Bush ordered changes to ensure parents will be able to see their children's medical records.

Two local insurance consultants, who lobbied heavily for the change, applauded the move announced April 12 by Secretary Tommy Thompson of Health and Human Services.

 "Parents will have access to information about the health and well-being of their children, including information about mental health, substance abuse or abortion," said Thompson at a press conference announcing the new privacy rules.

 The regulations put into place in the waning hours of the Clinton administration were held up for several months for review by the Bush administration. During that time, Secretary Thompson said he received more than 24,000 comments suggesting changes.

 During that period Cynthia Dudek, of Planning Resources Inc. of Troy, examined the 1,500 pages of regulations and said she saw major concerns for parents and families.

 "On the surface the original regulations seemed benign-written only to protect the privacy of individuals," Dudek said. "But, on close examination, I discovered the regulations would have made it legal for minors to Restrict access to their medical information by their parents."

 She alerted Mike O'Dea, a Southfield insurance consultant who created the Christus Medicus Foundation to educate Catholics about health-insurance issues.

 "Cynthia raised the issue to me in early February and immediately began working to alert concerned parents and Catholic leaders," said O'Dea.

 The two local consultants mounted a letter-writing campaign to alert Thompson of the attack on parental rights posed by the new regulations.

 "I was even more alarmed by a number of other problems families would face if this went into effect," said Dudek. "As originally promulgated, the regulations made it legal for a minor child to make medical decisions on is or her own, without parental consent or a legal representative."

 O'Dea called the decision to drop privacy regulations for children "a victory for the American family."

 Besides those affecting children's records, the administration made other improvements. One would make it clear that doctors can share information with specialists who are treating the same patient and that pharmacists can fill prescriptions over the telephone.

 Some abortion-rights supporters complained about the Bush administration's changes to the new regulations.

"They essentially say they are going to weaken the rights of minors," complained Ronald Weich, a lobbyist for the American Civil Liberties Union.  But privacy advocates generally praised the overall regulations and said most of the changes did not substantially alter the original plan.

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